Careena 14 - Zorkon's Stone

   So, at the end of the last post, Gamana was talking with the Varou twins, Muku & Druku, about the strange adviser that had gained total control over the Lord of the Varou tribe, the Otaan. This adviser wanted access to the ruins known as "Zorkon's Stone" and had induced the Otaan to migrate to gain that access. The fact that the ruins were in the lands of the Thornbinder tribe and would probably lead to a war between the tribes did not seem to be of any significance ...

---

So now they knew what was happening, the question was, what would they do about it? Did they want the war between the Thornbinders and the Otaan, and if not what could or would they do to stop it? And what would they do if they couldn't?

None wanted to see the blood spilled that would be the result of a war. Careena suggested assassinating the adviser, but Muku & Druku were adamant that this adviser never left the Lord's side with all his attendant guards and they were too many for an attack.

The twins did know that the Varou had migrated from the edge of the Hinterlands south westwards towards the Thornbinders lands and had camped to the southeast of Zorkon's Stone. There had been a number of skirmishes between small parties of Elves and Varou, but no pitched battles - yet.

This talk of the Thornbinders brought to Careena's mind the message that she had carried to Gamana from their Chief - she had not said what it was, only that it was a 'surprise'. As its content was probably relevant to the current situation, Careena asked Gamana about it. Making no effort at concealment, Gamana happily said that her sister had asked her to return to the tribe, contrary to all Elven tradition - hence the surprise.

Gamana had not decided whether to do so or not as yet; so, it was relevant but not directly so - the Thornbinders would be strengthened by having Gamana amongst their number, but that was not settled yet.

It seemed to Careena that the obvious solution was to get to Zorkon's Stone, learn what the adviser was after and take it from there, but either the twins and Gamana had not realised this, or were avoiding mentioning it for some reason ...

So Careena suggested it. Muku and Druku looked embarrassed - although to be honest, Careena could easily have been wrong about that, as she was unused to Varou expressions ... and Gamana's mask never looked like anything - well except itself. Careena pressed the question and the twins admitted that they would not fight other Varou, which would be a certainty if they went into the ruins after the adviser. Gamana needed to resolve the situation with her sister and the Thornbinders as soon as she could.

So Careena volunteered to go, a suggestion gratefully accepted by the twins and, after some hesitation by Gamana.  As her gear was all packed, Careena saw no reason to delay her departure, arranging to return to Thornfall to find Gamana - if she wasn't at the village, Gamana would ensure that Kenda, the tribe's bard would know how to find her.

Just before she left though, Careena had one last question for the twins. The few other Varou that she had met, seemed much more  ... 'agitated' was the best word Careena could find, than the twins - why was that?

According to them, most Varou, being Children of Fire, felt their passions and emotions far more strongly than a human, elf or dwarf. The twins, through their Dweomer training were able to recognise this and control them, giving them a level of control and wisdom unknown to other Varou.

Her question answered, Careena set off toward Zorkon's Stone, swearing a vow to herself that she would find what the adviser sought there.

   Swear an Iron Vow: I will search Zorkon's Stone and find what the 'adviser' seeks (Formidable); 3 +2 [heart] vs 3,4; strong hit, +2 mom -> 10

   This is a short journey, so I'm not going to use moves for it. The migrating Varou will be denizens of the ruins, as per the Delve rules

It didn't take Careena long to arrive at the edge of the ruins called Zorkon's Stone.

Discover a Site: Zorkon's Stone, dangerous Haunted Ruin

With her goal firmly in mind, Careena climbed over the low remnants of a wall that marked the edge of the ruins, and cautiously began her exploration ...

   Delve the Depths: 3 +3 [wits] vs 8,10; miss, Reveal a Danger
   Reveal a Danger: 02, Theme card, Denizens guard this area; 14 - Varou

Careena had travelled barely 50 yards before she blundered into a pair of Varou ..

   Let's try a Battle move for a change ...
   Battle: 5 +3 [wits] vs 8,10; miss BURN mom reset to 2, -> strong hit, +2 mom -> 4

Careena dealt with them quickly and dragged the bodies off the path and into some bushes before continuing.

   Delve the Depths: Feature 54 collapsed architecture; roll 3 +3 [wits] vs 10,3; weak hit, wits roll 83, prog -> 2/10, Find an Opportunity: 01 The terrain favours you, or you find a hidden path
   Going to mark progress on the vow too
   Reach a Milestone: I will search Zorkon's Stone and find what the 'adviser' seeks, prog -> 1/10

All around Careena were collapsed buildings, buildings that could have served any purpose or none - they were far too old to tell what they might be ... but Careena found a path through the area and continued exploring the ruins as the sun slowly began to set.

   Delve the Depths: Feature 43 Crumbling corridors and chambers; roll 2 +3 [wits] vs 3,2; strong hit, prog -> 4/10, Find an Opportunity: 62 A clue offers insight into your quest

   Well now I'm stumped ... I don't have a definite notion of what the 'adviser' wants in the ruins, so a clue to it is hard to come up with ... I'll have to think about this for a while ...
   Nothing came up so I'm changing the result to 26-45 An aspect of the history or nature of this place is revealed

As she transversed a still-standing building Careena found that it was full of sarcophagi - the place was a necropolis ... Careena hurried on, leaving the tomb behind her. Looking more closely around her as she did, she recognised that the ruined rubble all around her was the remains of tombs and monuments ...

   Delve the Depths: Feature 67 Courtyard; roll 3 +3 [wits] vs 1,1; strong hit, prog -> 6/10, Find an Opportunity: 89 You locate an interesting or helpful object

As Careena passed through what had once been a courtyard, she found evidence of previous explorers of the ruins. In the centre of the area lay an armoured figure surrounded by skeletons of Elves. As she drew closer, Careena realised that the figure had once been a Dwarf! Kicking off the dead Elf that lay across it, Careena could see that while the Dwarf had been reduced to bones, the armour remained in good condition along with the double-headed axe that had been hidden under the Elf.

Picking up the axe, Careena gave it an experimental swing and finding the balance perfect, she struck one of the slabs at her feet to see if time had weakened the metal. She was vastly surprised to see the blade sink almost a hand's width into the stone.

   I'm going to mark progress on a vow here ...
   Reach a Milestone: I will search Zorkon's Stone and find what the 'adviser' seeks, prog -> 2/10

Feeling that the axe had almost been made for her, Careena resolved to take it with her and began to examine the armour. It also seemed to be in perfect condition - well the metal parts, anyway. However, all the leather straps and padding had rotted to nothingness. Careena took a sack from her backpack and placed the pieces of her armour into it hoping that it could be repaired. That left the bones. Although in a necropolis, Careena felt that this long dead benefactor should be returned home if she ever could. Searching for anything could be used to identify who this might have been, Careena found a silver ring and necklace. The silver was too tarnished to see any marks on them at present, so she put them in her pouch and gathered up the bones reverentially into another sack, before tying both sacks onto her backpack.

   Seems like a good point for a vow ...
   Swear an Iron Vow: I will return this Dwarf's bones to his kin - Extreme; 5 +2 [heart] vs 6,4; strong hit, +2 mom -> 6
   I've thought about applying the Encumbered condition to Careena for carrying the armour, but decided not to in the end, as I've already established that Careena sheds her pack at the start of fights - mainly to Secure an Advantage

As she was in a place of relative safety, Careena decided to conduct the Keen ritual upon her new axe

   Secure an Advantage - Preparing for Ritual: 5 +3 [wits] +1 [Ritualist] vs 5,9; weak hit, +1 mom -> 7
   Ritual - Keen: 6 +2 [heart] vs 4,3; strong hit, +1 harm with axe

Her ritual finished, Careena resumed her exploration.

   Delve the Depths: Feature 76, Preserved Vault; roll 3 +3 [wits] vs 1,5; strong hit, prog -> 8/10, Find an Opportunity: Having rolled Preserved Vault, I picked '46-57 You locate a secure area' as it seemed appropriate

Before long Careena came across an apparently intact building and she decided to rest there for a few hours - the idea of wandering around a necropolis at night becoming less appealing ...

   Make Camp: 2 +4 [supply] vs 3,7; weak hit, choose Focus +1 mom -> 8

With the dawn, Careena arose and resumed her exploration.

   Delve the Depths: Feature 19 Apparitions of a person or event; roll 1 +3 [wits] vs 3,1; strong hit, prog -> 10/10, Find an Opportunity: I have an idea for this one

As the morning wore on, Careena saw, or thought she did, movement ahead so she quickly hid as best she could behind a low wall that was in better condition than most she had seen.

Peering over the wall, she saw a ghostly funeral procession passing by on a road. There seemed to be a lot of figures in this procession as well as what resembled Gaunts, but their apparitions seemed to be nowhere near as 'Gaunt' as the ones she had seen. But the people in the procession were the most unsual - they looked like the Broken that she had seen once, but they were walking upright and some even seemed to be whispering to each other! No Broken she had seen, or even heard of, had been capable of speech. One of them looked straight at her, but it, and all of the others, seemed to be unaware of her existence ...

As she looked down the length of the procession, Careena saw some Varou following the procession. She couldn't see how many at the distance they were at, so hunkered down a bit more - just to be safe.

Eventually the end of the procession passed Careena's hiding place and then the Varou. She could clearly see the Lord and is 'adviser' beside him. Unfortunately there were around 20 other warriors with them, but none spotted her - thankfully.

Careena watched the procession and the Varou walking along the road away from her. It was a long road, and after about half-a-mile, the procession and Varou turned into the biggest building Careena had yet seen

   Locate Your Objective: Found the Adviser's destination; prog 10 vs 8,9; strong hit, chhose +1 mom -> 9
   Reach a Milestone: I will search Zorkon's Stone and find what the 'adviser' seeks, prog -> 3/10

That's enough for now; more soon!

 

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